Regular Visit Part 3

I was so exhausted; I fell asleep at 9:30 pm and had a very goodnight’s sleep. I had all the positive energy inside of me from the family visit. It wasn’t very good to be back in my dorm bed but this is part of the process. I have a little more than 7 months remaining and it is up to me to make the best of it. I am most certainly on the downhill side of my sentence and it will be sooner than later when I share a bed with my wife.

I completed my run with my endorphins working at full speed with plenty of time to shave and shower before breakfast and the visit of my family. I was still regretting the fact that I didn’t take the Edge shaving cream and dental floss back with me. One of the ingredients in Edge is alcohol which is prohibited and cannot be purchased from the approved catalogues. After speaking with a few inmates and realizing my things were not thoroughly inspected upon my re-entry to the camp, I could have taken these items back.

Breakfast was delayed because the kitchen ran out of milk and the CO had to go to the local store to purchase it. Since the camp is located in a rather remote area, the roundtrip took 40 minutes. Fortunately, the CO’s on duty today were able to open the visiting area with only a 10 minute delay.

I saw my wife and children walk-in to the visiting area with the first wave of visitors. Unfortunately, the call to me was delayed by about 10 minutes as the CO’s were busy with other matters. The announcement finally came and I made my way down to the visiting area. Unlike last week when my children came running over to me, they stayed by the table waving. I could see the long week of visiting wearing on all of them. They were quite naturally tired but still had smiles on their faces and it was wonderful once again to see them!

I’m not sure how it happens, but the visiting time with my family does seem to pass in a blink of an eye. I was afraid to look at my watch for fear of seeing the time pass too quickly. Today was another glorious day with them and we played games together, ate (although my daughter seems to eat every other day and today was one of those days she doesn’t eat at all) laughed, talked, but most importantly we enjoyed each other tremendously. I can’t say enough good things about my family and mere words don’t do justice for my wife. She was tired and a bit burnt out, but outwardly she was so happy. I knew this entire ordeal from the very beginning almost 2 ½ years ago has taken its toll on her yet her love continues to grow as does mine for her. I continue to learn valuable lessons each and everyday about myself and continue to learn I have the perfect family. I needed these visits so much and they will carry me forward through the remainder of my sentence in a very positive way.

The day did go by very quickly and before I knew it we were saying our farewells. They will return tomorrow with our dear friends which will be wonderful. It will be very sad to see them go. My daughter didn’t want to let go and my son wanted to stay with me. Hopefully, when my wife returns to New Jersey she will have a new job and my children will be off to Jamaica with the rest of the family the first week of August. After that there is one month remaining until school begins and once again the cycle of Brownies, soccer, softball, t-ball and other assorted activities commence. As it stands now, I must remain in California for 13 months after my release while I am on parole. This does not mean I cannot visit my family in NJ especially since my daughter will be making he First Holy Communion in May and I will do everything in my power to attend. My children will finish the school year in NJ while I get myself re-established. Once again, I do know everything will work out the way it should and we will be a family very soon.

My family walked off to the car and I walked back to my dorm. Each one of them kept waving and blowing kisses towards me. My son ever being the character that he is kept calling “Bye-Daddy” as I walked back into camp. I am beyond fortunate to have such an incredible family and I had a smile on my face the remainder of the day. These visits have been phenomenal and I spent at least 30 minutes lying on my bunk recollecting today’s visit and looking ahead to tomorrow. I am truly a blessed person!